Sharp turns. Down and up with increases of up to 9 percent. Over 1000 meters of altitude. This is what the weekday is like for the wagon train that runs the E134 through Røldal in Vestland every day. Of the 2,200 vehicles that pass there every day on average, 20 percent is heavy traffic. The road is one of the important vegan routes between East Norway and West Norway. – I guess every single day one million dinners are transported from Fatland’s butchery in Ølen and to Austlandet, says Sigve Leirvik in Hustvedt & Skeie Transport. Wagon trains that run over Norwegian mountains still run on diesel. Last weekend, a collective industry mobilized for a new tunnel. Photo: Tale Hauso / news Main road between east and west To get to Oslo in the easiest way possible, the trip takes the E134, one of the main roads between east and west. A drive of approximately six hours from the slaughterhouse. The distance is 400 kilometers. While the electric passenger cars are often parked at the charging station in Røldal, the trailers whiz by with diesel in the tank. It will be like this for a long time to come, I believe Lervik. Despite the fact that the government believes that all new trucks from 2040 must be zero-emission. STOP: As long as driving between east and west is so complicated, Sigve Leirvik in Hustvedt & Skeie Transport will not buy an electric car. Photo: Tale Hauso / news Charging does not go down – For us, it is completely unrealistic to switch to electric trucks. Between Ølen and Oslo, I had to have had at least three charging stops in 45 minutes, says Lervik. But when you go up, you also have to go down again with the same car. – Then the car must also charge downhill? – No, it’s actually not that simple. Down towards Røldal, it is so winding that I have to stop completely, then accelerate again. Therefore, a lot of charging disappears, he explains. Those who drive between east and west will have a better road. This is Oddgeir Isvik. Photo: Tale Hauso / news A new and winter-proof tunnel between Seljestad and Røldal along the E134 has been part of the National Transport Plan (NTP) for many years. The tunnel will both save meters of height, shorten the distance between east and west, and improve access in winter. The project is in second place on the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s priority list. Expectations were sky high when the national budget was presented last autumn. But the government said stop, and did not promise money. – This government does not understand anything, said representative Terje Halleland (Frp) to Haugesund’s Avis. The tunnel will remove approximately 1,000 meters of height up and down. Lagde convoy Now is the hoped-for revised national budget, which is just around the corner. And both local politicians and the transport industry mobilized last weekend in a convoy of both lorries and buses. This picture was taken at the top of what is called Håradalen. Photo: Frode Lykkebø / National Road Administration Jan Ove Halsøy, regional manager of the Norwegian Truck Owners Association, believes that old roads are a threat to more environmentally friendly solutions. – Just the extra climbs through Røldal means that we use tens of extra liters of diesel. And just think of the greenhouse gas emissions. Now the politicians have to wake up. This is more important than many of the other castles in the air they want to build, he says. Jan Ove Halsøy believes that better arrangements must be made to choose electric. Photo: Tale Hauso / news He also believes that electric operation for the industry is completely out of the question. – The solution is to build roads that are energy-friendly. Here, the new Røldalstunnel is a star example of how it can be done, he says. Little interest in electrics Interest in buying electric trucks is still small, according to Olav Veggberg, salesman at Trucknor Haugesund. – The sale is primarily in connection with tenders, where there is a demand for electric cars. No one who drives transport will choose electric as long as there is no demand for it, he says. Førebels less than one percent of all trucks in Norway are electric. Here is an electric truck train from Volvo on Norwegian winter roads. It is still a long time before these can be seen over Norwegian mountain passes. Photo: Volvo trucks The range of a 44-tonne truck train with electric operation is stated to be 30 miles. The price of an electric car is almost twice as high as one with fossil fuel. – Above Haukelifjell, diesel will be the preferred alternative for a long time to come. There is also no infrastructure in place, he says, before adding: – But in some transport areas, such as waste disposal or shorter journeys between, for example, Haugesund-Stavanger or Bergen-Stavanger, we can get more electric operation, he says. When Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygaard (Ap) was on a tour of the area in March, he said that the Røldal-Seljestad tunnel has been postponed due to fears that the road project will stimulate the economy so that interest rates rise. Wagon train on wagon train in demonstration for better roads. Photo: Tale Hauso / news
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Transport companies say no to battery cars due to steep slopes – news Vestland
